


In the Desert

by Amrynth



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Birthday Present, F/M, Fluff, minimal romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-04-25 14:40:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14380767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amrynth/pseuds/Amrynth
Summary: Zelda and Link are in the Gerudo desert after the defeat of Calamity Ganon.





	In the Desert

**Author's Note:**

> Just a short piece for the lovely Liz for her birthday! She's a huge nerd for science Zelda and ships her with Link so here we go. It was fun to do something small and fluffy.
> 
> You can check her work out (including some hella cute BOTW work) here: http://rabidpotato.tumblr.com/

The last time they had been to the Gerudo desert Zelda had considered it to be a complete fiasco. But since Link had defeated Calamity Ganon, she’d committed to doing a tour of the realm and visiting all the shrines and those which had been erected to the champions who had given their lives one hundred years ago. She thought it might help them to understand the ancients if they documented the places where the shrines had been and it was nice to try and imagine what it had actually been like to be Link on his adventure. There was always the potential that Ganon would return someday and knowing as much about the ancients as she could would help someone in the future. If the texts were to be believed, she would be helping herself and Link. 

She looked over at Link riding in comfortable silence and tried to think about what she could say to break the silence. He was so used to being alone. She’d seen him, spending days, weeks without seeing another soul that wasn’t a monster bent on killing him. His quiet confused her where it never had before. Would talking about their goals intrude on his solitude? Did he want solitude? Was it forcing him to relive his worst memories to bring him back to the shrines and fight with the remnants of Ganon’s monsters as they travelled? 

“Oh look,” Zelda pointed while steering her mount closer to Link’s so that their knees almost touched. “I didn’t know such a variety of saffina grew in the desert, we should collect it to help replenish the greenhouse when it’s rebuilt.” 

Link followed the line of her finger, almost reaching for the weapon on his back before realizing she was only pointing at a plant. His shoulders slowly relaxed and he nodded, turning to look her direction. She felt herself getting flustered, red in the face and unable to read what he was thinking. So much time had passed for her and he’d been through such an ordeal. He jumped down from his horse and Zelda was disappointed he still remained silent. 

“Princess?”

She gave a little start at his voice and his presence beside her knee. Link offered a hand to her, steadying her mount with the other hand when the horse danced nervously in the sand. 

“Oh. Um. Thank you but-” she stopped herself. It seemed quite natural to turn him down and insist she could get down from the horse herself. Looking down into his open, earnest face, Zelda couldn’t refuse his help, not when those piercing blue eyes were looking up at her and when he was offering the communication he seemed the most comfortable with. Instead Zelda put her hand into his and turned to allow him to help her down. 

When she turned, Link released her hand and reached for her waist instead, lifting her down from the horse. Zelda found her hands on Link’s shoulders, not sure when he’d gotten strong enough to lift her down but able to feel the motion of the muscles in his arm. She’d been more interested in elixirs and the ancients until now but Zelda suddenly wondered if there was a book in the library on Hylian anatomy that had survived the Occupation. And then she was on the ground, looking up at Link with his hands still on her waist and she forgot anything about books and anatomy because she was lost in his blue eyes and the warmth of his hands. 

“Oh.”

Link gave her a soft little smile that warmed the blue of his eyes. He didn’t need words really, expressing his fondness with a warm expression and holding her waist longer than was strictly needed. 

“I’m sorry it took me so long to find you,” Link spoke finally, his words a little halting as he picked them out. 

“Link it’s too hot for me to hug you so stop looking at me like that,” Zelda pushed him away so she could blush in peace, putting the backs of her fingers against her cheeks but finding no comfort from the heat there. 

Link released her without resistance and collected the reins to his mount before walking to the saffina that they’d stopped for in the first place. 

“It’s very warm,” Zelda announced, as though that would explain her pink cheeks. 

Instead of answering, Link collected the plants they had stopped for, efficiently collecting them and tucking them into the satchel on his waist. He pulled a cloak from the bag on his horse and held it out to Zelda, keeping an appropriate distance this time. She could feel the cool emanating from the fabric as soon as she touched it and held it against her face for a moment before pulling the cloak and hood on. It smelled a little like horse and a lot like Link. Zelda felt her face get warm again. She was the monarch of Hyrule and she was not supposed to get this distracted because Link smelled really nice, even if he did. 

“Do you think we will make it to the oasis before dark?” They were unlikely to run into stalfos anymore but Zelda still did not relish being in the middle of the desert come nightfall. 

As a response the hylian knight squinted at the horizon and pulled his Sheikah Slate from his side and consult his map. He looked so alone and comfortable that way. Zelda gathered the cloak around herself and stepped closer so that she could look over his shoulder and see the map on the slate. He finally nodded, a soft noise of affirmation to confirm that yes, they would make it before night. 

It was tempting to request Link’s help up onto her horse but she stepped up before she could give in to that temptation. Link steadied her mount anyway, his hand so close to her knee it did anything but steady her heart. 

“I bet I can beat you to the oasis,” Zelda blurted out, startling both of them and both horses. 

Link raised his eyebrows but then he grinned and the challenge was on. He leapt onto his horse in a single, fluid motion. He guided the horse with his knees and pointed them both in one direction. 

“Ready?” Zelda asked. Link nodded. “Set?” Another nod. “Go!”

They both started forward in a spray of sand but Link veered off to the right and Zelda realized he’d had them pointed in the wrong direction on purpose. She laughed even though it was a dirty trick. 

“You rotten cheat!” She shouted at his back but spurred her horse to catch up. Link’s cloak streamed behind her and her warm cheeks were completely forgotten in the hot wind as they raced, side by side toward the oasis.

Zelda gradually pulled ahead, especially once she could see the trees of the oasis and no longer had to keep an eye on Link to make sure she was going in the right direction. Not that she trusted the dirty cheat anymore. She raced into the oasis and pulled her horse into a curve around the pool of water to come to a halt. When Link pulled in beside her she grinned triumphantly. 

“I told you so!” She beamed and Link grinned back at her, clearly proud of her. A hundred years ago she would never have tried it let alone allowed herself to push hard enough to win. She would have thought she had given it her best but at the time she didn’t know what that was. 

Link drew his mount up alongside hers, facing the opposite direction this time. She was still smiling and attributed the pink in Link’s cheeks to the sun right until the moment when he leaned close across the gap between their horses and kissed her. His lips were dry and soft and felt superheated from inside the cool space created by his cape. Zelda leaned toward him but her control of her horse wasn’t as natural as his so the horse took it as a sign to walk in the opposite direction from Link and his horse. Link, extended toward Zelda, wasn’t quite able to get his balance and tumbled from his mount right into the cool body of water of the oasis. 

Giddy, Zelda found herself laughing and couldn’t bring herself to stop. They were both alive and Calamity Ganon had been driven back and Link looked ridiculous and wet and indignant and handsome and they had the whole of their lives to live.


End file.
